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Letter to parents/carers

We are sorry if your child’s treatment has been delayed and we want to assure you that your child has not been forgotten. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented circumstances and regrettably delays for treatment for some patients. Every patient is being reviewed by our clinical teams to ensure we are treating patients in order of clinical need and supporting those that may have to wait longer for their treatment than originally planned.

In light of the current situation, we have increased the clinical review of our waiting lists. We want to involve patients and families in this process so that we understand your current needs and any changes in your child’s health. It is very important that should your child’s symptoms worsen that you contact the clinical team who is caring for them.

We would like you to let us know about your child’s current situation and your future treatment wishes. Please be assured that any decision about next steps for your child will be reviewed by a clinician.

There are a number of circumstances which may apply to your child:

1. Your child’s condition has not changed and you would like for them to remain on the waiting list.
2. You no longer wish for your child to have the procedure and would like for them to be discharged.
3. You wish to have your child’s procedure delayed for personal/social reasons.
4. Your child has had the procedure completed elsewhere and therefore no longer needs to be on our waiting list

Please be assured that this is a secure website. You will need your child’s NHS Number and the specialty they are under from the top of the letter that was sent to you via post.

Please note that any wishes or requests will be subject to a review by a clinician prior to agreement. This may involve your clinical team contacting you to discuss this further. We will not be discharging patients unless it is safe to do so and it is in their best interests.

For patients and families still coming to us for treatment, we want to let you know that you are safe and secure when attending our hospital. We have made the hospital as COVID-19 safe as possible with a number of measures. We ask everyone to wear a face covering (unless they are exempt), keep 2 metres apart from others, wash or gel their hands regularly and not to come into the Trust if they have any COVID symptoms or are self-isolating. We also ask that only one parent or carer accompanies a patient during their time at the Trust.

You can visit our website to prepare for coming to Sheffield Children’s. This includes illustrations of what personal protective equipment our staff might be wearing, videos about what coming for surgery might look like and lots of helpful patient and family resources: www.sheffieldchildrens.nhs.uk/safe

Once again, we are sorry that your child’s treatment may be delayed and we look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Jeff Perring
Medical Director

Useful contact details:

• Should your child’s symptoms/condition have worsened please contact your clinical team via the switchboard at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust on 0114 271 7000.
• If you do not have access to the internet, you can register your response to this letter by calling us on 0114 305 3691 between 4pm-8pm Monday to Friday. Please be aware that due to the pandemic our call centre capacity is reduced and you many need to wait in a call queue.
• If you need any advice or have concerns about the care the Trust provides, please contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Manager, Julie Mather on 0114 271 7594 / email: scn-tr.pals@nhs.net